California Chrome Exits Hollywood Derby Victory in Good Shape
Bob Baffert says California Chrome should be 3-year-old champion, while voters should choose Bayern for Horse of the Year
Immediately following California Chrome’s stirring victory, viewed by 21,889 on track Saturday, Mark Casse sought out Art Sherman.
The trainer of runner-up Lexie Lou shook hands with the trainer of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner and offered congratulations and compliments.
“Great job. You deserve it,” Casse said before turning Sherman over to the crush of media and California Chrome followers. Later, Casse expanded on his thoughts.
“He’s a very classy man,” Casse said. “It takes some real moxie to do what he did and run a horse that has done so well on dirt on the grass for the first time in a race like that. I can’t imagine the pressure that was on him, but he did it.”
California Chrome co-owner Steve Coburn after the race: “Art said he had a real strong, gut feeling that this horse would run on grass. We said, ‘OK, Art, if you really feel that strong, let’s find a race for him.’ This was it.”
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California Chrome’s victory, his fourth in a Grade I stakes in 2014, polished Chrome’s credentials for Horse of the Year honors as well as top 3-year-old. A loss would have … well, that possibility Sherman said he never gave a thought.
“I know there was a lot on the line, people have told me that,” Sherman said. “If he didn’t run well, I would have looked like somebody who didn’t know what he was doing.
“But I know this horse. He wasn’t going to let me down.”
Sherman watched closely as California Chrome was walked around the barn area at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. The walk was occasionally halted for the chestnut colt to look over the surroundings or pose for pictures from those who stopped by. “He ate up good last night, we checked him out this morning and the knees, ankles and everything looked tight. I’m happy,” Sherman said.
Saturday’s crowd, largest of the Bing Crosby Season, had a few thousand hard-core “Chromies” and several thousand more single-day enlistees to the California Chrome army of fans. They cheered his name when it was announced, cheered Coburn and the entourage when the group was shown on the big infield video board, and were in full throat when Victor Espinoza let Chrome loose in the stretch for a two-length victory.
“Reminded me of an opening day crowd, not an end of the meeting one,” Sherman said.
California Chrome is scheduled to van back to Los Alamitos on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by stablemate Perfect Set, Sherman’s final Bing Crosby Season starter in the day’s third race.
